Devices connected to a network commonly are used to access media data over that network. Servers and databases are required to handle all requests by a networked media device and deliver the requested media data. Media systems that deliver media data to a media device over a computer network typically consist of a client device, a server and a database. Client devices log in to the network server. A client application requests data from the server. The server communicates with the database and requests that the database retrieve the specific data file. The data file is retrieved by the database and sent to the server. The server transfers the media data to the client over the network.
Media data such as audio, video and animated graphic data are typically large data files. Transmission of such data to a client device in a timely manner requires a significant amount of server bandwidth. Network bandwidth costs can be a significant percentage of the total costs of running and maintaining a media network server. Continuous programming of media data or sequential multimedia presentations may require multiple requests for additional media data. In addition, multiple devices accessing the network media server at the same time also contribute to additional server bandwidth requirements. Each request for media data increases the server bandwidth requirements and an increase in server workload. Media network servers handle all communications between the multiple clients and the database as well as sending the media data over the network. If demand for large media data files consumes the majority of the total server bandwidth, it limits the communication between the server and clients, which prevents additional clients from logging on to the network server.
Operators of such networked media data systems must design the media network system to meet the needs of peak bandwidth requirements to insure that requests made by client applications or devices are serviced and delivered in a timely manner without excessive delay times. System operators must purchase the network bandwidth required to service their media network's peak usage. Media systems that are accessed by a large amount of simultaneous clients can require enormous amounts of bandwidth for only a short period of time. Peak network usage may be, in fact, only a small percentage of the total average bandwidth used. Thus, operating costs of such a system can be very high for even a moderately frequented media network.
The operator of a media network system many times does not own the media data that is sent over the media network. Media data owners frequently license the media data to the network operators for limited use of the media data to help promote the sales of the media itself or associated products and services. Media data owners typically have the raw media in a format that is not optimized for network delivery. The media data must be sent to the network operators, digitized and encoded in media formats optimized for network delivery. The data next must be categorized and stored in the database. System operators incur significant time and costs for the categorization and storage of the media data. As mentioned, media data such as audio, video and animated graphics data can be very large. Storage costs of such data are expensive and time consuming.
The prior art media network systems present disadvantages for the media data owners. For example, once the media data has been input to the media network system, the media data owners no longer have direct control of the media data that they own. The operators of the media network control all day-to-day use of the media data. The addition or deletion of media data files to and from the network is much more difficult for the media data owners to control because they do not control or operate the media network.
Network operators also are presented with disadvantages of the above described prior art systems. When the media data that is being sent over the network has low sales, the operator of the network assumes the majority of the losses due to the bandwidth, storage and operation costs. The media data owners do not carry the burden of the overhead costs of the operation of the network, and therefore they can attempt to sell poor quality media products causing significant losses to the operators of the media network.
Finally, networked systems are susceptible to varying degrees of failure. Natural disasters, hardware and software failures all can affect the performance of a media network system. Technical difficulties that occur within the media system can affect the systems network connection, the retrieval of media data files, and may require the entire server to be reinitialized. Systems, which are contained at a single location, may have redundancy designed into the local system. However, catastrophic errors that affect the performance of an entire network area need to require additional network wide redundancy to increase network reliability.